White console----Japanese perspective?

Soft surfaces inside a vehicle in case body parts come in contact...., a better shot!

 

I have found some usefulness for the small "groove" just right of the steering wheel. A small stack of business cards.

 

I have nothing against white coloring per se, but when was the last time you saw white plastic not turn yellowish tint after a few years, esp after being in the in the sun?

 

I hadn't even thought of that. I think you have brought up another negative of the porcelain look.

 

All the time in well manufactured products. You apply what's called a UV Coating to the ABS. And even cheap UV Coatings yellow (but leave the underlying plastic OK for future repairs). It's UV rays that turn them yellow over time. That white looks really glossy, so my guess is that there is a UV coating on it.

For an example in price, a current ABS enclosure I am having manufactured costs $0.43 per enclosure in quantity for just the plastic which can be polished so it looks nice. It will not be glossy, but it will be fine for most uses. Like plastic cups kind of. If I pay an additional $2 per enclosure, they get primed and painted. Paint will make it shiny, but will chip and discoulour over time. Pay an additional $4 and you get a polish with a UV coating which makes it shiny and durable. But you just increased the cost of manufacturing by an order of magnitude. This is a large enclosure, and the mould size is about the size of that white piece so I think the prices are comparable.

The question would be, how many pennies did Toyota want to save? Is it painted? Or is it UV coated? I sure hope it is UV treated...

 

Honestly, I like the white but if it starts to yellow, I'd just apply an appliqué to it. NBD.

 

I understand what you are saying, but when you pay $30k for a car with an interior piece that big that yellows it should be a big deal. And I'm not saying it will yellow, just that if it does I'd be livid.

 

Maybe it will end up being a recall if that is the case

 

One of the things I liked most about the Gen 3 was the dual glovebox. Really really handy. I hated the look of the Gen 3 "flying bridge" at first but came to love it, plus the storage tray underneath.

The sunglasses storage compartment at the front of the headliner was a minor disappointment. All my glasses are prescription so it was not convenient to use it for glasses: I often need to take them with me when I get out of the car, so I just use glasses cases. I tried to use that compartment for change and a few other minor articles but things tended to fall out of it. A change + oddities compartment elsewhere would have been a plus.

 

I never saw the interior of the last Prius so I don't know about the glovebox my but last car had this little tray where you could stick tickets and whatever in but I used it for spare gas money. Like I figured somehow if I got stranded without my wallet, I'd always have $20 for gas hidden in my car. Even when kids got into my car a few months ago because I left it unlocked, that money was untouched while everything else was rifled through. I guess I could put it in the glovebox now but the owners manual + navigation manual is huge and takes up most of the space. I never stored anything in my glovebox though other than my insurance, registration and manual.

 

I think it's probably overblown to say everyone hates the white console look, in North America.
Recently there was a post with someone wanting to know how they might obtain it, their Prius did not have the white trim.

I think that person referred to the white as "Piano Keys".

I think Toyota's aim was to try to make The Prius look more upscale.
I've always said if I was buying a white Prius, I might really want the white trim on the inside.

As far as the Japanese perspective? Interesting ideas in so much as perhaps their is viewpoint is influenced by a love for ceramic arts.
But my guess is no, it's probably a whole lot simpler. Just something Toyota tried, that has backfired in terms of general acceptance.

I don't think it's a big deal. If you want it? It's currently available. If you don't like it? You can get the overlay.

I think if Toyota had left the white trim as a totally optional owners choice, it wouldn't be an issue at all.

I'm thinking of Mini Coopers, that offer the potential buyers lots of comparatively extreme amounts of interior and exterior choices, including trim color choices. You don't hear a lot of complaints about any of the trim color choices, and they do have shiny Black and a choice in White as well, and really the difference is pretty much that Mini presents these as customization options, not something that will automatically come on the model you may want.

 

Duh! White "dirties" too easily & quickly...and...in high-sunshine conditions (AZ, SoCal, NM, TX, etc.) reflects WAY too much glare around the cabin!

 

Actually black shows dust more easily than white would, I mean it isn't like it is white cloth. Also, I don't know if anyone has said anything about reflection but there are plenty of buyers in SoCal so far and test drives I saw done in SoCal, none of which mentioned glare.

 

Glare has not been an issue.

 

white mac books haven't yellowed, that i've seen.

 

It is a question of how much UV hits the plastic over time in regards to yellowing. UV blockers and inhibiters can be used in the plastic, but car windows already have UV filters, and have for awhile. White plastic isn't the only material inside a car that can be damaged by UV rays.

 

Haven't cleaned my car in about 5 years so it probably doesn't matter what color the interior is. I'm not a fan of the white though.

 

I feel the same way; I love getting into the car and seeing the white and black combination. I think this is the best combination ever put into a car (with the exception of the camel color on some Audi and Porsches). It looks modern and with the moonroof, its almost too bright (which I like). I live in Southern California and was looking for a Prius Four with both packages and the Midnight Black exterior and a moonstone interior. The dealer said that i would have to wait a couple months to get that combination, because it was so rare. I was lucky and they said one day that they transferred that Prius configuration to my dealer. I went up to the dealer and bought it that day. I'm glad I did!